First thing to note is that the schools with the highest tuition and fees are not always the most expensive in the end, because students could receive more grants and private funding, Jarvis said. While it’s important to consider the cost, it can also be more complicated than just looking at tuition. “There is a whole landscape of debt release programs,” Jarvis said. Some law schools have school-based, state-based or employer-based loan repayment assistance programs. preLaw magazine’s rankings look at LRAP, tuition and a calculation that compares average debt payment for each school minus the average LRAP payment. Not surprisingly, most of the schools at the top of the cost of education category are public schools — Rutgers, West Virginia University, The Ohio State, University of Nebraska and University of Maryland are all in the top six. But Stanford ranks third and Yale ranks seventh based on strong LRAP programs. When it comes to evaluating any LRAP, students need to be thinking about the design of the program. For example, which
CUNY’s Sameer Ashar (above), associate dean for clinical programs, said clinical work is the essential part of the public interest practice. Third-year students Katie Engst (left) and Terri Nilliasca currently participate in CUNY’s Immigrant and Refugee Rights Clinic.
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PHOTO BY RYAN FIELD